Plywood is a composite material made from thin sheets of wood veneer bonded together with the grain of neighbouring layers alternating up the direction. As a result, plywood is more durable and can be dimensioned more precisely than solid wood.

Coincidentally, plywood has an interesting history too — in particular, it's one of the most used building materials in North America and Australia. The word itself derives from "plies," which describes its layered structure and gives it the name: ‘plywood’. Plywood is mainly used as a structural material, such as in homes and other buildings.

In the last few years, plywood has been used for many other purposes than its main purpose, for instance, to strengthen the roof with its strong structure. Plywood can be easily cut into smaller pieces without loss of strength and used as a backing or a decorative element. What else can plywood be used for? Read on to find out.

Plywood is available in a wide range of thicknesses, from less than 1/64" to more than 3/16". However, in common usage, the term plywood can be used interchangeably with the term medium-density fibreboard (MDF). The most commonly available thicknesses of plywood are 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", and 1/2".

Plywood panels are available in widths from as little as 4" to up to 12” and in standard lengths of 8”, 10”, or 12”. Plywood panels can be cut down to size with woodworking power saws, hand saws, and special panel-cutting tools.

Think of plywood as a big pile of wooden tiles — because it is; each piece consists of thin sheets that are layered together. The sheets on top go one way, and underneath they go the other.

Some Unique Things That You Should Know About Plywood

●     Before being used to make plywood, each sheet of wood is carefully thinned down so that the grain increases evenly up and down the piece. A single large log can have many different sections if it's not carefully thinned first or if it isn't cut into large pieces first.

●  When pieces of wood are glued together, the grain of one piece goes in the same direction as the adjacent piece. This is called "cross-grained" and can weaken a wood panel. By cutting each piece into smaller pieces, it makes each piece much stronger.

Benefits of Plywood:

●  Plywood is a very strong and durable material. When used for panelling purposes, plywood is typically 2" thick and is available in various sizes. They are waterproof plywood.

●      It is used extensively in homes and other buildings for its ability to be cut easily, thus making it easier to apply to projects.

●      It's also relatively cheap, costing less than $2 per square foot for 4-ft by 8-ft sheets.

●      It's also very eco-friendly because it's made efficiently with fewer virgin materials. Choosing plywood over solid wood is a way of conserving natural resources that would otherwise have to be cut and then disposed of.

Conclusion

Plywood, such as Wigwam Plywood, is sometimes used in the construction of furniture, as well as in various other aspects of art. In these instances, the panels are purchased from retail outlets instead of from lumber yards or hardwood trees.